Rememberance and Renewal
by Bio-Nic
Summary: Sanosuke returns to Tokyo after ten years of travels. How will the denizens react? First sidestory - Closure uploaded
1. Return

Prolouge  
  
The evening I returned to Tokyo, I was overwhelmed by the changes within the city. Open air shops that had once barely scraped by were now flourishing, their wares no longer being kept in wooden crates by their stalls, but in small storage sheds and back rooms. I absently thought, "Boy, it's tougher to scare up a free meal now...." before realizing that I tried not to do that sort of thing anymore. It's quite strange, really, I am almost considered a respectable gentleman in some parts of the world. I don't go to those places anymore, they cramp my style.  
  
It was strange to see myself back here, Sagara Sanosuke, wanderer, fighter, part time peacemaker, full time troublemaker, with all the changes and differences apparent for the first time to me. I could never figure out why, but I always considered this place my home, ever since meeting Kenshin and Kaoru oh so long ago.... It was strange for another reason, as well. People were slowly showing more signs of the English and the French influence, kimono's were rare, geta were giving way to western style shoes, and suits seemed to be in fashion more often than not. Though, even with all the modernization, and the constant stares from more "civilized" people, I still wear a simple white dogi, red headband, and my personal crusade on my back. Easier to clean, more comfortable to wear, and on top of that, easier to get blood stains out of after a fight than a suit... Ten year's worth of memories, road travel, aches, and old sore muscles complained quietly about the chill breeze that had sprung up from off the bay because of my attire. Ignoring them had become common for me, and today was no different. I had an appointment to keep, one that had waited more than ten years, and for me, wouldn't wait a moment more.  
  
*****  
  
Walking within the cemetary ground's was something that I have avidly avoided, if at all possible. Reminicing on the dead is not something that I like to do, if I can help it. I figure the dead have their own problems to deal with, and having to put up with me will just annoy the ancestors more than I already have. Passing quietly, I nod politely to the respectable old man burning incense at the grave of his departed wife. I nod respectfully to a stone as I pass it by, noting it was one of the older shopkeepers that I used to haunt, then quietly move down the row towards my destination. I take note of the grey slate stones as I pass them by, their kanji speaking of the people enshrined within.   
  
I nearly miss their marker, small and silent among the surrounding stones as it is. Hardly rich in life, they couldn't afford much, but the simple word's seemed to bring back a flood of memories like a torrent of the tides. "Himura Shinta" and "Himura Kaoru" carved carefully by one of the local stonesmiths, no doubt one of the many that Kenshin... Shinta had helped at one time or another through the many years. Stepping down quietly, I brush aside some of the leave's that collect in places like this, their burnt umber ruffled to life by my intrusion upon their stony resting ground. Placing several osenko into the small pot provided, I face the stone directly for the first time before I begin to tell my tale.  
  
"Hey Jou-chan, Kenshin. It's been a long time since I stuck you in that boat coming home, but, I don't regret that I did. Took all my money, and my best haggling skills to get you to Tokyo, you know that Kenshin. Scared the bejesus out of an old friend, but he willingly took you, plus a small fee, of course. For what it is worth to you, I am glad that you finally found your peace, Kenshin. It may have taken war, death, redemption, pain, and a hell of a lot of heartache, but you did it. I wish I could have realized how bad it really was for you, back then. I would have helped more than I did..." I glance down at my right hand, still bandaged to protect it from the crushing forces that I use when I fight. Even after all these years, four pale parallel scars peeking out between the cream-colored bandages, the memories of orange fur, teeth, claws and blood rising again to meet me. "It was a hard fight, yes, and it cost me, but it was worth it. I owed you a great deal for that, you know. I also know that I hate owing people anything. So, I figure that I pay you back for your hospitality, and your friendship." Sano shifted his eyes up, catching the early morning light in his salt and pepper hair before sighing at the weather, and then settling back down, and continuing.   
  
"I know that I haven't visited you for ten years, and for that, I am sorry. I needed to find my own way, and my own truth before I could come back to face the reality of yours. I still don't know if my truth is the one that I sought in the beginning, but I know that I found it, that it was also the better one, the right one. It also wasn't the one that I expected, once I realized what it was. I sat on a rain drenched field for hours laughing my head off when I realized it, and it changed me. I think it made me the person that you two saw every time you looked at me, looked at what was hidden under the surface of the rough, rowdy fighter that you two called friend." Sighing for a moment, I set into my tale.  
  
"I figure that I better start at the beginning for you to realize the end, huh. Or maybe, the middle is where to start, cause that's where we seperated, all those years ago. I hope it doesn't take ten years, though... I still have some things that I need to do here in Tokyo..." Settling down quietly into a favored cross-legged position, I begin the tale of how I grew up.....  
  
To Be Continued.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
osenko: n. (form) incense  
  
Zanza: n. a large blade used by the calvery in the late 1400's. They were considered to large and unweildy for most swordsman, and had fallen out of favor by the early 1500's.  
  
Note: It is also Sanosuke's name he held for many years as as a hired gangster.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Authors Ranting:  
  
I'm often asked "what is the point behind a fight." I always think of Sano when I get asked that question, and that's prolly why I am writing this fanfiction. He always seemed to be nearly out of control, his furance never quenched, his power just over the horizon. I can identify with the man, and I feel he needed a story all his own, though it will never be manga, I hope that this becomes one of those possible "what if" fic's.  
  
It was never intended to be posted to anything other than friends and relatives, but, due to some thoughtful and well written *kapowies* and *mutilates* I decided to post it. Chapter One and Two should be up soon, they are the only ones that are fleshed out enough to post at the moment. With that, I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfiction.   
  
Jeremy Bennett  
  
P.S. people I should thank for this fictions creation? I'll have a complete list sometime before I die. 


	2. Confession

Remember and Renew: Chapter 1  
  
Tsubame had traveled this road many times in her young life. She always took the same route to and from work. The second left from the Kamiya dojo, then right onto the bridge overlooking the canal, then another left leading to the main road by the cemetary where Kenshin and Kaoru were laid to rest all those years ago, then on to work. She kept a habit to always keep her head down for her short trip, until she reached the cemetery, where she would briefly look over to the right to make sure that the grave stone for the Himuras was clean and well kept. If not, she would quietly slip inside, give proper respects, and clean the headstone of any collected leaves or dead flowers before continuing on. This always made her late for work, but Tae was an understand mistress, and never complained about her quietly slipping into the resturant five or ten minutes late on occasion. Though, she had not been working for the last few days, she had left the dojo early, expecting to make her cleaning effort at the gravesite, then on to work on time. Stopping by the side of the street, with the carriages and people flowing around her like the human river that downtown Tokyo produced in the morning, she noted with shocked recognition the slightly greying man with the red bandana sitting cross legged at the foot of the stone edifice....  
  
*****  
  
"Well, where does our story end and mine begin, guys? Was it after Shishio? Enishi? I really don't know, anymore. For two years(find out proper timeline...) we traveled as friends down a road, a blurry and unkept road of redemption, pain, love, friendship, and anger towards a future we thought would be better than the past we were leaving behind. We faced it, together, you, me, Yahiko, Meg..., all of us. We fought more battles in those times than I think I ever had my entire life before that summer we met. Sure, I had FIGHTS and brawls before, small and unimportant stuff that I forgot five minutes later, but... I guess I could consider you guys my family, and this my home. Back then, I was so wrapped up needing to prove my strength and my pain against everyone and everything. Blinding striking in the dark at the people who had hurt my own stubborn pride. Though, looking back, those were always about me, my father, my aborted childhood, everything was always reacting, my own need to control my destiny before everything else, and anyone who gets in my way be damned. You both changed that for me. Kenshin, you cracked the hell out of my head that first battle we had. I'd never met anyone who respected my own dreams, and my own pain, more than you, while at the same time not giving his own dreams up in the face of that anger, or my stupid pride. Jou-chan, you too, with your quiet, shy smiles, your constant love of everyone, and your vibrance, you kept us all together, I think. Kenshin may have been the forge for our motley crew, but you, more than anything else, were the smith that helped keep us together when we were fighting for the people who COULDN'T fight back. Even when Enishi had... killed.... you, and destroyed Kenshin, your work, your craft, kept us all together, everyone except me, that is. I was so angry, then. I had found a family, only to have it taken away, with me completely unable to do anything about it. So. I ran. For that, I applogize. I was a stubborn, stupid bastard then, just as much as I am now... In the end, it worked out, I know, but... it still... well.. you know. I think that, more than anything else, is why I left. I needed to find my answers for myself, and to make my own answers to the questions that I could never reveal, even to myself.  
  
*****  
  
Tsubame slipped quietly along the narrow lane of the cemetery, moving with the simple quiet skill she had mastered so young to avoid the rough bastards she had to call master for so long. She approached behind him, never keeping her eyes on him for more than a second, her soft soles making barely a whisper. Quite without warning, Sano seemed to heave a sigh, bow his head for a moment, and shake off some evening chill, though it was barely the crack of the morning. Then, he settled back down and then began his story, quiet, sad, and completely without the Sano bravado that she had known all those years ago. She settled nearby to listen She didn't normally eavesdrop, but damnit, she WANTED to know what Sano would say. She settled down behind one of the nearby stones, her skirt ruffling quietly in the still early morning air. She didn't have to wait long, as Sano began his tale.  
  
*****  
  
"When I left that day, looking back from that small little dingy boat, it's wooden hull rotted nearly all the way through, its filth, I thought 'Yes, this is for the best. They HAVE their dreams, their lives, and their loves sorted out. They will be fine.' I saw all of you standing there, bright colorful. The yellows in Jo-chan's kimono offset by the fiery blaze of her cheeks, the sleek black curve of Kenshins saya at sash, his scar standing out to the testament of his own answer, and it was all slipping into the past for me, even then. Even after five minutes, I saw not my past with you guys, but a future, freedom, moving across my eyes like the fires of the sun on the waters. I almost wish I would have stayed."  
  
"The boat was unremarkable, a trading ship by the name of the Flowering Sakura. One of my old friends, Shin, had put me in contact with the captain, convincing him that there was no better worker this side of Hokkaido. Thinking Shin right, and me stupid, the captain, a Sato Shuchi, had put me to work nearly the second that I was on board. It was terrible work. Slopping decks, cleaning the hold, lugging one hundred pound kegs of water around to the other ship mates to give them THEIR water, without getting any myself until I was slogging off the bottom of the barrels, its dingy water tasting of brine and scum. My bed was a straw matress and rough old timber pillow that had been used last sometime before the Bakametsu for the horses, I think. Anyway, we were three days out to sea, traveling east towards China with a full load of silk and iron for trade, when I found the stow away rifling through my rucksack. Thinking one of the ships mates had taken to thieving the new crewmembers for everything they owned, I snuck up in the dim light's of the cabin to show the nasty little shit what pain WAS. Then I noticed it was a kid. A SMALL kid. She couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 at the time, wafer thin, brown still pools for eyes glancing everywhere for any sign of trouble, a dirty thin yakuta her only garment, without any tabi or geta on her feet. She had gotten into my precious rations of dried beef and was trying to shove five chunks into her mouth while at the same time trying to find convient locations to put most of my other pesonal goods for a getaway. Quickly moving up on the little vermin, I kept myself carefully out of sight until her back was turned away, then stepped into the light filtering down from thet checkerboard grill above.  
  
"OI! WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" I belted out at her. Spinning around like quicksilver, she was nearly past me and across the deck before I had time to stop her. Grabbing her around the waist before she could throw herself into one of the shadows cast by the huge shapes of the cargo, I put my hand over her mouth, and wrapped my other around her waist while trying to keep her quiet enough that she didn't draw any more attention than she had already.  
  
I was surprised when she somehow got one of my fingers in her mouth and bit down as hard as she could. Yelling out a curse for every kami that ever put teeth in people's mouths, I pulled the injured and bleeding digit of my right hand free of the little mongrel's mouth before she got another pound of flesh. I continued to curse under my breath while my little friend fought and flailed around. She seemed quite unhappy that I had not completely let go of her when she bit down, so she proceeded to start flailing and kicking at my knees and thighs blindly in an attempt to finish the painful job her sharp little teeth had started. As one of her legs came back to try to knock whatever children I might eventually have somewhere into the upper atmostphere, I quickly pushed her forward, and, added by the angular momentum of her leg, watched with great pleasure as she did a complete aerial flip into what accounted for my bedding. Crashing down with an audible THUMP on the top of one of my best sake glasses, the snarlish little thing cursed in a very strange tounge before warily stepping up and wincing in pain while still keeping an eye on me.  
  
"Who you are?" She said in badly broken japanese.  
  
"Hurt," I replied sharply.  
  
"Good," she cried before running forward with a shard of sake cup, intending, no doubt, to try to put it through some vital part of me.  
  
  
  
Whipping quickly to the side, I grabbed her off wrist in one hand before pivoting it behind her back, and drawing it up to just below her shoulder blades. Dropping the white and red shard in pain, she quickly dropped to her knees, me sitting behind her back, one hand dropped by her side in defeat, the other still help firmly between her shoulder blades by my light grip.  
  
"Now," I drew my breath out quickly, then exhaled, "Why you rutting through my sack?"  
  
"None of yours, roosterhead!" Was the quick reply after some judicious arm pressure.  
  
"Well, it IS my damn business if its my sack, right???" I idly noted the fact that everyone thinks I look like a chicken before easing the pressure off her arm slighly. It was grinding alarmingly, and I didn't wanna SNAP her little arm off.  
  
"Didn't have your name on it, now did it?"  
  
"Don't matter. Come on, we are going to see what our captain will do with you." I quickly grabbed her around her waist before yanking her up into and under arm carry and moving toward the open hatch.  
  
"No, nononononononononoNOOOOO" was the continued cry as I brought her out into the late afternoon sunlight.  
  
To Be Continued   
  
Authors Notes:  
  
I've already had emails about this, so I am going to just come right out and say it plain. Sano and Megumi will not marry in this fiction. Period. *backs away from rake and shovel wielding fangirls* Seriously, though I kinda enjoy the banter as a couple, and the chance they might get laid from each other sometime, I just don't think they make that good of a couple. Sano is, was, and will always be, a wanderer. Megumi couldn't live with a man like that, imho. Anyway. that was the only direct question that I had regarding the fiction at this time, so, without further wait, I finish off this authors notes.  
  
Jeremy Bennett 


	3. Beginning

Chapter 2  
  
Sano re-adjusted his position on the ground, noting that he should have done the smart thing and brought a pillow to sit down on before settling back in to continue his story. Sighing quietly to himself, he noted an odd tingling in the base of his skull, and deciding that it could be dealt with later, continued on with his story.  
  
*****  
  
The air smelled of bad wood, tinged slightly with the acrid odor of the crew and their various morning tribulations, the storm that they had pass through the day before still making the sky above look dark and menacing compared to the small craft chopping through the waves. From below decks, the sounds of a struggle were briefly heard, followed by the very eloquent and varied sounds of cursing and breaking things. Suddenly, Sanosuke broke through the open doors of the hold harrying a grey bundle under one arm and nursing the finger of his other hand. Stopping quickly to glare at one of the officers that had gone to investigate the commotion, he dropped what was revealed to be a young girl on the polished deck before calling out for the captain.  
  
"Yo, Captain-san, I found a rodent below decks, whadda want me to do with it?" Sano yelled out loud enough for the no doubt hung over captain to get rattled over.   
  
"What in kami's name you bellering about you idiot?" Came the captain highly annoyed response as he staggered out of his cabin, half dressed and obviously hurting from the little "drinking game" he and several officers had the night before. "Same thing we do with all rat's, skin em and eat... oh... that kinda rat." Noting the age, and the gender of our little guest, the captain came to a quick conclusion on the matter.   
  
"Throw her overboard, or give her to me so I can." The captain slyly said, an odd and familar gleam in his eye.  
  
  
  
"Nope, can't do that for ya, sorry." I quickly fired back, making sure not to take my eyes off him, the challenge plain in my tone that he was NOT going to do what I thought he was going to do to that little girl so long as I had breath.  
  
The captain, thinking that I was still just a stupid uncivilized crook running from the law responded in a tone that set my blood boiling. "She is an obvious stow away, on MY ship, and I will, and can, do what I want. Got it, or do you wanna go overboard WITH her? If not, Give. Her. Here."  
  
"Like I said, buddy, not gonna give her up to you. Got it? As for throwing ME over the side with her, well, I don't think that words quite describe what I would do to your overy-ripe melon of a head if you try the way that my fists can." With that, I grabbed one of the oak deck rails and gently squeezed it, the heavy sound of splintering wood crashing over the stunned crew like so many waves.  
  
The captain, facing a slightly bigger shark than he was used to, quickly backed down in the face of the imminent pain that I was threatening, and muttered under his breath, "Fine, but you need to take care of the little brat, and she gets half your rations!" before scuttling back into his quarters to brood. I quickly made eye contact with the group of cowed sailors remaining after my little impromtu re-evaluation of the humanity on the ship before grabbing my now young and stunned charge under my arm again and traipsing(?) back below decks.  
  
*****  
  
"Okay. The Rules. One. No hitting," I explained to her after stopping her third attempt to strike me with random things lying around the hold.  
  
"Two, you share my food, you help with my chores, got it?" I sidestepped to avoid a half hearted lunge with a wooden hook, quickly grabbing her wrists and forcing her to look at me.  
  
"Three, and this is the most import...." I cut myself off after getting a god look at her hands for the first time that night. The left one looked fine, smooth and clean like a child's should. But the right was covered in blood, in fact, was bleeding freely from a long gash along the middle pads of her fingers. She must have done that when she grabbed that shard of pottery, I thought. Coming to a quick desicion, I grabbed her around her waist, threw her over my shoulder, and carried her over to one of the kegs of fresh water and alcohol that the ship carried for long sea voyages.   
  
"Put your hands in this basin, and clean them up," I commanded.  
  
"No, you're not gonna make me!" Boy some people were stubborn.  
  
"Look, you little... shorty.... if you don't put your hands in there to clean them up, I'm gonna push your HEAD in there until you stop arguing." Obviously something in my expression broke through the shell of bullishness the girl had, and she slowly dipped her hands into the water.....  
  
*****  
  
"Trust me Kenshin, had I known the trouble that little girl was gonna get me in, I would have never, ever gotten involved in her life. I later found out that her name was Chisai, and to how she got on board, I still have no clue. All I knew at that point, I was getting less rations, less sleep, more annoyed, and deeper in shit than I really needed to be. You two know me best.. what ususally happens when I get cranky? Yup, the crew found out the next morning....."  
  
*****  
  
Tsubame, still quietly evesdropping on Sanosuke, had a hard time controlling the urge to laugh. The little girl he described reminded her so much of Yahiko at that age it was all she could do to contain her amusement. She dimly realized that she was going to be quite late for work today, but quickly sqaushed the idea behind a wall of determination to find out what had happened to Sano over the last ten years. Other than the occasion, brief letter or post card, he had been a complete blank in the minds of his friends. Finally, here, he was baring his story, though he didn't know anyone was listening in. Though, by looking at the gathering clouds overhead, she could tell that it was going to rain soon. Coming to a descion, Tsubame quickly stood up and coughed gently to get Sano's attention....  
  
To be Continued.  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Pre readers are reqested. Drop line to bio_nic80@yahoo.com  
  
Jeremy Bennett 


	4. Mistake

Chapter Three  
  
The sky was starting to darken with the coming rain, the morning sky turning from it's azure blue to the dark greys and charcoal smudges of coming storms. Sano had been hoping to tell his entire story before the rains arrived, but it seemed that it was not to be. The tingling at the base of his neck turned into a fire that shot down his back as someone delicately coughed behind him. Whirling about faster than lightning, he was upon his assailant in the blink of an eye, his left hand coming in low for the solar plexus, intent on bringing his attackers nose down into his hard right fist for a quick combination strike. Noting something wrong at the last second, he pulled his strike while it was still an inch from... her... nose....   
  
"Oh... crap......" Sano muttered...  
  
*****  
  
Tsubame was in shock. Once second she was trying to get Sanosuke's attention, and the next she found a fist filling her vision...  
  
Now, despite many people's beliefs to the contrary, Tsubame had been living in a well known kendo dojo for the last eleven years. Though not practicing more than her husband, she DID get training from him in basic self defense. Specifically, he had helped her with that little Judo he acutally knew, and had drilled her in how to handle this sort of situation. Due, more than likey to the shock of the moment (and not this authors desire to watch Sano get tossed around by pretty women.) her training in the Art kicked in, and, though nearly a head taller than her, with years more experience, her pivoted righthanded hipthrow caught Sano under his right wrist, transferred the motion of his punch into momentum, and had him seeing the world upside down before crashing to the ground heavily, stars in his eyes.  
  
"Owwwwwww............." Sano groaned while fighthing to figure out which way was up and which was was down again.  
  
By this time, Tsubame was looking at her arms like they were from some great deep dark dungon. Suddenly she realized that SHE had just taken Sagara Sanosuke... THE Sagara Sanosuke out with a simple hip toss. Then, shocked, she realized that she had prolly just knocked one of her oldest friends out completely by accident.  
  
"Oh, my........." was her slight response to the spinning eyed man now lying stunned on the ground.  
  
*****  
  
"Wel, that was a new one...." Sano though to himself before looking up at his... assailant. Straight black hair, quiet maroon eyes, western style black unform dress that fell to her ankles... he should know this girl, from somewhere. A memory long buried jogged to his awareness. A shinai, a dark ally, a fight that Yahiko wouldn't lose for a girl in a well work kimono...  
  
"Tsubame?" Sano ventured carefully....  
  
"Gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen nassai!!!!" Tsubame chanted as she fell to her knees and bowed her head to the ground of the cemetery at his feet. "You surprised me, and I didn't really think, and Yahiko taught me, and oooh......" she said before prompty falling to the ground unconscious in a dead faint.  
  
Sighing deeply, Sano quickly thought about the situation. A deserted cemetery, a unconscious girl, and an aging martial artist were not the best scene for the passing person on the street to see. Thinking quickly, he remembered that Tsubame used to work at the Akabeko. Scooping her up in his arms, and half bowing to Kaoru and Kenshin's stone, he bounded out of the cemetery on his way to to what he still hoped was the Akabeko.  
  
*****  
  
Yahiko was in a good mood. Well, as good as could be expected considering the fact that the storm that had sprung up on this late fall afternoon had him soaked to the bone, cold, and hungry. He and his son, Shinya, had just returned from Okinawa on a trip to help an old friend with the death of his wife. He had been away from home for nearly three weeks, and was anxious to see Tsubame again. Yahiko made a point to take his son traveling with him when he was younger, and though he wished that it has been a better trip, he travels with his son were still happy times. However, his son missed his mother as much as Yahiko, and both were moving at a good clip to get back to the Akabeko and see her, however miserable and wet they looked at the moment. However, the trek had been long, and very tiring for the young, short legged Shinya, and Yahiko had dropped him at the dojo to get cleaned up and rested before he saw his mother.  
  
Yahiko set off at a brisk pace, wanting to catch Tsubame for lunch, and tell her about his trip. Rounding the corner near the cemetery, however, Yahiko stopped in his tracks, his battle sense telling him something was off in the air. Suddenly, a man bounced out of the gate of of the cemetery, a very familar young woman in his arms.  
  
"TSUBAME!!!!" Yahiko shouted, quickly attempting to close the distance between his wife's assailant, his hand already reaching for the sakabatou at his side.   
  
Though he practiced Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, and had a vow to never kill, that didn't stopYahiko from dealing(?) out a great deal of pain when the situation required it. Right now, his eyes blazed in anger, and he saw where punishment was needed. Oh yes... quite needed, indeed. No one messed with his family, and he was going to teach this thug just that....  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
oh yes... *evil grin* What do you do when the hardest headed rooster and the hottest tempered tanuki trained fighter meet? :)  
  
Jeremy Bennett 


	5. Assult

Chapter Four  
  
Sano quickly came to the same conclusion that he had thousands of times before. Women were Trouble. Always. Take for instance the fact Tsubame had fainted without anything more than a "gomen gomen gomen." Now, he was hauling her halfway across town, under the threat of a thunderstorm, to somewhere he hopes she USED to work. Quietly sighing to himself, he scooped Tsubame up into his arms and set off for the Akebato. No sooner had he had begun his trek, his senses were suddenly assaulted with the sounds of "You BASTARD!!!!!!" from down the road. Turning slightly, he noticed a young man, maybe 25 running at him with a sword at his hip, his blue hakama and gi seeming oddly familar. By the look in his eye, he could plainly tell the man had seen him leave with Tsubame, and had naturally thought the worst. A ruffian kidnapping a woman, with some evil intent. Not having any time to think about what he was doing, he dropped Tsubame as gently to the ground as possible and prepared for the oncoming assault......  
  
*****  
  
Yahiko cringed as he saw Tsubame hit the ground. His already strained senses told him to get this over with quickly, so with a speed he rarely displayed outside of the most serious of battles, he came at the stupid idiot who would attack his wife with all the strength he could muster after both the long trek, and the stress of seeing his wife being nearly abducted by such a villian. He knew there were few people who could actively stand up to one of his attacks without serious injury, and was not expecting this man to be much of a challenge, attacking nearly defenseless young women in a cemetery, no less. Drawing his sakabatou in a running battoujutsu, his lateral strike was intended to slam into the side of the man's right ribs, and throwing him to his left, hopefully unconscious. It was a very large surprise to him, when the man shifting his postion just slighly to the right, allowing Yahiko's strike to pass him by just scant centimeters from his right side, and brought his knee up directly into Yahiko's solar plexus like a loaded shot of lead. The last thing Yahiko remembered before unconsciousness took him went something along the lines of "Boy that hairdo looks familar...."  
  
*****  
  
Sano looked down at the fallen man, slightly who had slumped over in his unconscious state. He could always remember trouble following him around when he was younger, but this was just plan stupid. Bending over, he turned the man face up, and for the first time got a good, long look at him.  
  
"Well damn, I should'a figured on something like that... must be geetting feeble in my old age..." Looking one more time just to make sure, I confirm that, yah, I just knocked Yahiko out, and not only that, he was sloppy enough to let me do it in one blow... Maybe it is a good thing that I came back to Tokyo.......  
  
Figuring that I had puttered about with the kids long enough, I picked Yahiko up off the ground, propped him up on a nearby wall, and slapped his face, hard.  
  
*****  
  
Yahiko stood in the dojo, quietly contemplating the sign in front of him. He had been meditating, trying to understand the character written on the white piece of silk when he heard someone come into the dojo. Turning around, he noted Tsubame coming towards him with a bokken in hand, a gentle smile on her face. Uhoh... this can't be good, he thought to himself. Turning around and standing, he came up and gently pulled her into a hug, her words coming like silk, she began carressing his face... "Yahiko-kun..... Yahiko-kun....." she gently mumbled, their faces getting closer and closer.... suddenly, her hand came up for the greatest smack he had ever felt in his entire life...."  
  
"YAHIKO, you baka! Wake the hell up!" Jeez, people just couldn't handle a little love tap anymore, could they.  
  
"Tsubame.... why'd you hit me....?" Yahiko mumbled before reality came crashing back on his senses. His eye's flying wide open, Yahiko looked up into the aged face of Sagara Sanosuke for the first time in ten years.  
  
"How you doing Yahiko-chan. Nice to know that you are still carrying on th traditions of 'baka-deshi-ken.' Kaoru would be so proud. Now if you don't mind, could you take your hands off my waist... it's really starting to bother me....."   
  
"Okay," Yahiko thought to himself, I am still dreaming. I can not have my hands around another man's waist, cause I know Sano can't be back in Tokyo. Therefore, whoever is over me must be impersonating Sano to try to gain my trust, then slip a tanto in my back. Well, I will show him. Moving slowly, he rested his left hand at the pommel of his sakabatou, and using a skill gleaned through many years of repeated attempts, drove the hilt directly into the man's chin. Crowing in triumph, he watched as the man went over backwards, unconsious.  
  
Tsubame chose that moment to stir, her eye's fluttering like a butterfly in the breeze. She took in the scene before her, with Sanosuke lying unconsious a few feet from an obvious dazed Yahiko. Making a quick judgement, she quickly ran up and checked on her husband.  
  
"Anata, are you okay?" She quickly began inspecting her husband for injuries.  
  
"Yes, who the hell is that?" Yahiko nodded toward the slumbering form of Sano.  
  
"Dear, don't you recognize Sanosuke? I found him meeting at Kaoru and Kenshin's gravesite, he startled me, and I hurt him a bit before... well... the rest is kinda fuzzy, but maybe tea would be a good way to bring this whole mess back into control, don't you?" Tsubame asked mildly, her eye's glittering with mirth.....  
  
"Hooo boy... I have a feeling it's gonna be a long day......" Yahiko muttered before nodding his head at his wife's suggestion.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	6. Anguish

Chapter Four  
  
Something was wrong. I was lying on my back, with a splitting headache. Not that unusual an experience, after so many years of long sake parties, American beer, and Russian vodkas, you know what a hangover feels like. Problem is, this didn't FEEL like a hangover. In fact, it felt a lot like someone had slugged me. Wait.... I was sleeping on something soft. A futon? How odd. I haven't slept on one of those in nearly two years. Come to think about it.... where am I? One minute I had my screwy experience with Tsubame at the gravesite, next thing I know I run into Yahiko, and be knocks the piss outta me... HOLD ON........Yahiko beat the piss out of ME??? WHAT THE HELL?!  
  
****  
  
Tsubame and Yahiko were sitting quietly on the egawa, the rain leaving a smattering of puddles in the sandy courtyard next to the dojo. Trying to remain inconspicious, Shinya listened quietly from behind one of the sliding shoji as his parents chatted about their guest.  
  
"Jeez, Sano's not been slouching off, has he?" Yahiko commented while still rubbing his sore stomach after that strike he'd recieved. Tsubame was trying very hard not to laugh at her husband's discomfort. She couldn't help but be amazed that Yahiko and Sano saw each other less than thirty seconds and were already causing each other no end of grief. Then again, helping lug Sanosuke's gangly frame back to the dojo had given her a backache, as well.  
  
"Well, if you would have a little consideration for the people you are about to fight with, maybe a misunderstanding like this won't happen again, dear." Tsubame chided.  
  
"Well, what did you expect me to do, I saw a guy trying to kidnap my wife! I've made enough enemies in my life that it isn't entirely insane to think that, you know. That's why I trained you, why I am training Shinya. I don't know what would happen if I lost you two."  
  
"I know, and it was sweet of you... but not even I thought you would forget what Sano always wore, and besides, he STILL had 'evil' on his back, so how could you miss THAT if anything?"  
  
Yahiko sighed in the face of his wife's gentle, but very logical argument. He had over-reacted. Maybe it was the stress of seeing what happened when husbands lost their wives. He realized he would have to applogize to Sano. Damn he hated being wrong. He REALLY being wrong and needing to be called to it by that roosterhead only made matters worse. Oh well, he thought, there isn't much I can do.   
  
"Shinya, come out from behind there and get a broom to start sweeping the courtyard with. Your mother has been trying to do it for the last two weeks by herself, and I would imagine there are a few spots that could be done again." Yahiko called out to where his son had been trying to eavesdrop from behind the shoji leading to the kitchen.  
  
"Hai, tousan......" Shinya sheepishly replied, coming out from his hiding spot. "But, Dad, is that the REAL Sano? the Sano that helped you and Ken-san fight Shishio, and beat up 500 men single handed?"  
  
"Yes, Shin-chan, it is." Yahiko replied, remembering all the stories and fables that grew up around the Kenshin-gumi all those years ago, about the fights, and the fun. Shinya was just utterly enthralled with the facts, and always told the stories to his friends. .  
  
"Sugoi...... I can't wait to tell Outa! He always wanted to meet Sano. He was always his favorite!."  
  
"Well, there will be time for that later young man. Now go do as your father told you to, and then we will talk later. Okay?" Tsubame broke in with the "don't mess with me, I am the mother" look.  
  
"Hai, mamma...." With that, Shinya trudged off toward the cleaning shed, intent on his work.  
  
Turning back to Tsubame, Yahiko suddenly thought of something. "Dear, shouldn't you be at work by this time?"  
  
Tsubame went quite pale. "Oh no...." she stated before rushing off toward the gates... "Tae is gonna KILL me" was all that was heard as she faded into the distance.  
  
*****  
  
I wander my way through the Kamiya home. It's been ten years since I was last here. Time seems to have changed it little. Plants are still in the same locations. Little things that Kaoru had done seem to have been continued by Tsubame and Yahiko. They have taken over the main room, it seems. Looking around, I notice the occupation of children. Kids. Perfect. More trouble to get me into. The whole experience brings back memories. Yahiko spending countless hours out there polishing the floor for Kaoru as part of her ab... training, then doing two thousand strokes Kaoru beating on Kenshin with a bokken. Kaoru beating on Kenshin with a pot, a spoon, a shinai... I was broken out of my memory induced trance by the sound of someone walking up behind me. Turning around, quickly, I quickly look at what Yahiko has become, and am quite happy. Grinning wrying, I figure he's prolly as easy to bait as he was ten years ago......  
  
"Hey, brat. You hit hard, you know that?"  
  
"I could say the same about you, you damn roosterhead. In town less than a day, and you're already groping my wife, jeez!"  
  
"Oh come on, I didn't have my hands anywhere near her bre...." I cut myself off quickly at seeing the mischif in Yahikos eyes.  
  
"Oh, so now you're denying that my wife tossed you around like a rag doll this morning?" Yahiko stated archly.  
  
"Hey, she caught me off gaurd, I wasn't expecting to see anyone there."  
  
"That's fine, she explained everything to me. It's good to see you again. We haven't had a card from you in nearly three years. I was starting to wonder where you'd gotten off to."  
  
"Oh, you know me. The road catches my attention, and I follow it where it needs to take me." My stomach rumbles quietly, showing it's annoyance at being ignored up until now. Laughing gently, Yahiko just beckons me out of the door, and stopping in the dojo to tell the kid cleaning the floor, he starts leading me out the gates.  
  
"Come on, We can prolly catch up to Tsubame if we hurry up. We have a lot of catching up to do!"  
  
To Be Continued 


	7. Friendship

Chapter Five  
  
"You're kidding, three in one day…" I trailed off as we approached the Akebato. It had been a long time since I had been here, and the sounds and smells of good food cooking still had the old effect of making my stomach rumble in complaint at being neglected. Chuckling to himself, Yahiko just rolled his eyes at the sky and muttered something about unchanging rocks.  
  
*****  
  
"Welcome to the Akebato, my name is… SANOSUKE?!" Tae yelled loud enough to rattle the rafters of the building.  
  
"Hey Tae, it's…." I only got out before a large flaming demon head appeared before Yahiko and I. If not for the five-foot head, the lizard tongue, the flaming hair, and the obvious murderous glint in her eye, I would have said she was happy to see me.  
  
"You OWE me, Sagara." The demon head seemed to go from deep purple to nearly black. "One Hundred and Fifty THOUSAND yen, Sagara. Pay up, get out, or I take it out on your hide RIGHT NOW!"  
  
"Oh, is that all? Here." Fumbling into my pocket, I quickly pull a large wad of bills out, put them on the counter, and bow deeply. "Sorry it took me so long to pay you back, but I hope that this covers most of it. If you need more, it will take me a day or two to get it, but that should cover a good chunk."  
  
The demon head suddenly popped out of existence, Tae patted her hair where it was slightly mussed, then snagged the bills off the counter. "Oh, well, that's different. Right this way." Turning to follow Tae, I notice that Yahiko has a shell-shocked expression on his face. His hair was blown back, and it was actually was doing a pretty good impression of my hairstyle at the moment. Touching him gently on the shoulder, I laughed to myself when he fell over, stiff as a board and out like a light. Picking him up, I carried him under my arm back to a private room near the kitchen.  
  
*****  
  
"Yahiko, dear, would you please get me the dried miso out of the storage shed?" Tsubame called out of the kitchen. Quickly doing as his wife asked, Yahiko returned with the small wooden container under one arm, to be greeted to the sight of his wife wearing little more than a short, gray yukuta and a smile.   
  
"I was thinking of something… different… for breakfast this morning, anata… something… sweet…" Tsubame slowly started walking towards her husband, her hands toying with the simple tie at her waist. Yahiko moved his hands out towards his willing wife, grasping her lightly and running his hands along her shapely… WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, BAKA?!" I bellow as Yahiko attempts to fondle my rear as I haul him to our table. Dropping him quickly, I restrain myself from stomping down on his thick skull and ending his misery for all time.  
  
*****  
  
"Ugh… what the hell did you do that for Tsub…" Yahiko trails off as he notices someone towering above him, foot poised to crack his skull. Rolling quickly, he slapped his right hand on the floor to pivot from, and rotated his knee through a sharp arc, catching Sano's ankle neatly, he droped him onto a patron smirking about the spectacle. This caused the man to fall into the young couple sitting next to him to lose balance, triping forward into the kitchen uncontrollably. Several crashes and clatters later, loud cursing, followed by VERY angry and muttering Tsubame out of the kitchen just in time to see her husband pick himself up off the floor. Miso soup was everywhere, people were scattered, Sano and groaning as he tried to get up from the remains of the table.  
  
Yahiko smirked as he jumped up, and attempted to dust himself off. There, that should show Sano what happens when you tick me off NOW. Suddenly, his danger sense pinged, and he slowly turned around to note his wife, a small fire burning in her eyes, and a large… heavy… ladle… in her hands. This.. didn't look good.  
  
"Umm… heh… sorry, my dear, darling lovely wife??" Much violence commenced.  
  
*****  
  
"You know, that lil firecracker you call a wife could be a really good artist if she just worked a little..." I told the twisted and mutilated Yahiko as we sat at a low table. The mess had been cleaned, the food replaced, and general order restored, though Tae was watching us to make sure we did not cause any more little incidents  
  
"So, what have you been doing? We haven't heard from you in so long we were starting to worry." Yahiko opened with while wincing and shifting uncomfortably.   
  
"Oh, you know me. Traveling, moving around a lot. Doing what I do best." I replied with a small grin.  
  
"Mooching, fighting, and chasing women in other words." Tae said, approaching from the kitchen area with some maki sushi rolls.  
  
"Oi, I am not that bad! Jeez, like I have time to settle down with anyone…"   
  
"Really?" Tae seemed unimpressed. "I can think of a couple of people who want to see YOU, Sagara."  
  
"And who would that be?" I gritted out though I could already guess.  
  
"Megumi, for one." Tae said with a touch of anger.  
  
"Yah, Foxlady can wait." I replied promptly  
  
"Your sister, for another."   
  
That brought me up short. Sister?? Here?? Oh… Crap.  
  
To Be Continued… 


	8. Introduction

Chapter Six  
  
"Sister?!" I shouted in shock, nearly falling over. This was the last thing that I needed today.  
  
"Yah, sister. Little blonde thing, maybe twenty years old..." Yahiko stated, obviously confused.  
  
Wait. Little blon... oh no. Anyone, ANYTHING but her... I decided that an explanation was in order, and quickly, before the little monster found m...  
  
With a deafening roar, the force of a blonde blur blew in the doors to the Akebato. The blur homed in, approaching like some unstoppable force, then proceeded to attach itself to my arm. It resolved itself into a young woman, with a shock of wild blond hair, clear blue eyes, and slightly elfin features below long bangs.  
  
"Sano-neechan!! I've looked all over for you, and I couldn't find you, and you were gone when I woke up, and I couldn't get anyone to tell me where you went, so I started wandering, and I remember you talking about your old friends in Tokyo, and how you needed to go there someday, and that was so long ago! So I went searching for you, and I got here, and there were these mean men, and Ken-neechan beat them up, and then I found out that he was the same one you knew and..." With a sick grin, I disentangled my arm from her grip, and, giving the out of breath girl to Yahiko, told him, "I see you've met Chisai."  
  
"Yes, and she does seem to have quite an attachment to you." Yahiko replied with a slight grin. "She wandered in about two months ago, and was getting roughed up by a couple of local boys. Shinta came through and stopped them, and she... as she put it, "adopted" him. Then she asked about her other 'neechan' Sanosuke, and has been here ever since. It's been quite an experience for Shinta, let me tell you."  
  
"I can understand that." Boy, this was going to be hard to explain to everyone.  
  
*****  
  
With Tsubame's help, I quickly filled Yahiko in on the story up to the point where I had been... interrupted. By this time, the Akebato had slowed down considerably, most of the regular patrons having left for other business. Tae had brought out some more food (at my expense) of course, and I was ready to continue my tale. Settling back again, for the second time that day, I continued.  
  
*****  
  
  
  
. We had just finished cleaning up Chisai's wounds, the cut from the pottery shard was not as bad as I had first thought, and I had wrapped it up with some of my bandages that I had brought with me. She had finally settled down enough that I believed she wasn't going to try and gut me in the middle of the night. After roughing up my straw futon for night, I noticed that she had just sat and watched me the whole time.   
  
"What did you bring to sleep with?" I asked her with what I hopped was an authoritative tone in my voice.  
  
"mmfm" she mumbled back at me.  
  
"What, I can't hear a word you're saying."  
  
"I didn't..." she mumbled again.  
  
Realizing that she didn't bring anything to sleep with, I sighed to myself, picked up my dogi jacket from where I had stowed it in my pack, and tossed it over to her. "You sleep on the floor, over there, facing away from me." Pointing at a small cubby between two barrels, I watched as she shuffled over and looked at the space distastefully. "Use that until I can find you something better," I said diplomatically.  
  
"Why can't I use the mattress?" she wailed.  
  
"Cause, I booked it, you tried to loot me, and you're annoying." I replied in a curt voice.  
  
"You're nothing but a old mean man!" She replied back.  
  
"Yah, well, I still get the mat!" With that, I turned over, closed my eyes, and ignored the little monster so that I could get some sleep. Hearing a rustle behind me, I cracked an eye and noted that she did as she was told, though I heard the grumble about "Baka old men" before she pulled my dogi over her shoulders, glaring back at me one last time, then turning over and closing her eyes.  
  
*****  
  
The process of slugging water and rigging sails for my trip wasn't difficult, once I got into the rhythm of it. Moving about the ship was good exercise, and I quickly got the hang of moving with the sway of the vessel to avoid the seasickness that seemed to catch people who were not used to sea travel. I might have been perfectly happy with that, but for the fact that every time I turned around, I had a little blonde in my shadow glaring at me when she thought I wasn't looking.   
  
This was added by the fact that several of the crew were looking at Chisai like the stinking dogs that I was rapidly coming to believe they were. It was really starting to get on my nerves some of the looks that I was getting as well, and decided to bite the problem off the best way I knew how. Picking one of the more... disturbing... men staring at Chisai, I set down my bucket and walked up to him. Noting that I was again being shadowed, I mentally thanked my stars that Chisai was so terrified that she wasn't willing to start a war with me.  
  
"Gendou, isn't it?" I decided to try a little tact before beating his skull in. "I noticed that you've kept a close eye on me since I came on board. Can I do something for ya?"  
  
He looked at me, then changed his expression and looked Chisai, standing behind me. "How much?"  
  
"Excuse me?" I asked, though already guessing what he meant.  
  
"For the kid. How much? I've got about four hundred yen with me right now." He again asked, the lecherous and sadistic look in his eye mirroring the captains from the night before.  
  
"Ah..." I replied in complete understanding. Stepping forward quickly, I lifted him up with my left hand, while at the same time landing a blow with my right in his unprotected solar plexus. After he doubled over, I grabbed him with my right hand, and quickly shifting my weight, tossed him into the small crowd that had gathered to watch what might happen. Looming over the mass of arms and legs at my feet, I again re-iterated what I had said the night before. "Anyone, ANYONE touches her, and I break every bone in their body, understand?"  
  
"You just want to hold her for yourself. You want all the tail for your own damn..." was as far as the idiot made it before I tossed him overboard, head first. As he sailed over the railing, a cry of "GET HIM" came from the bodies still lying at my feet, which caused the fight to degrade into a free for all. People were throwing themselves at me, thinking they had a chance if all of them rushed me en mass.   
  
They were wrong.   
  
It was a brawl for several minutes, until I heard a cry from behind making me whirl quickly, forgetting a heavyset man with a moustache I had just kicked over the railing into the water below.  
  
The first man that I had 'handled' had a large knife out, and was holding Chisai's arm in a painful overhand grip whle he waved the blade in front of her face like a snake. Now, you know how I get when life is on the line. Sure, I like fighting as much as the next guy, but when a life is in danger, I get more serious. Sure, the little snot annoyed me, but she was in danger, and I didn't have the time to be nice. Blurring forward, I grabbed Gendou's knife hand, and, yanking hard, heard the brittle snap of bones before throwing a open palm strike into the middle of his face. He went over backwards, a spray of blood pouring from his nose, and dropping like a sack of rice to the deck of the ship.   
  
All motion stopped, everyone looking at the fate of Gendou. Most of them thought he was dead. I knew better, though. He would live, unfortunately. I looked down, noting that Chisai had a small trickle of blood running down her face from a small slash running across her forehead. The blade of the knife had evidently nicked her as it traveled up.  
  
The captain, being drawn by the commotion, made his way to see what the fight was all about, noted Gendou, Chisai, and then my challenging glare.  
  
"Go clean up Gendou, I want to talk to him when he wakes up. Lock those two up until the trip is done. We will figure out what the Chinese want done with them when we hit port." Understanding that this was the only way to prevent more bloodshed on board, I relented, and Chisai and I kept the cockroaches company in the forward hold for the rest of the trip to China.  
  
*****  
  
"He was SOOOO cool, I didn't know he cared so much about me, even back then!" Chisai gushed, her exuberance plain. By the time I had finished the story, it had grown to late afternoon, and the evening rush was beginning once again. Tae had wandered off, to be replaced by Tsubame, who laughed and cried in rounds at the story.  
  
"Well, I think it's about time we started back, don't you, Sano?" Yahiko stated.  
  
"Sure, I need to find an inn yet, anyway." I replied back to him.  
  
"I will have no such thing. You will stay with us, and that's the end of it!" Tsubame chimed in. "You are an old friend, one who has helped us more in the past than I care to remember, and you will be staying with us." The steel, hidden behind her voice, was suddenly quite strong, and I smiled to myself before relenting and allowing myself to be dragged outside by Chisai, being followed behind by Yahiko and Tsubame.  
  
*****  
  
"So, what do you think of his story?" Tsubame asked her husband as they settled down for the evening.   
  
"I don't know, it seems straight forward enough, and Chisai SAID that she met him on a boat... it just seems there is something else more to it than he is saying." Yahiko seemed deep in thought, something nagging at the back of his mind.  
  
"Anata..." Yahiko was still distracted.  
  
"Anaata..." The whisper of fabric on skin could be heard. Yahiko's eyes widened, turned, and looked.   
  
"Maybe we could worry about it in the morning... Yahiko-chan?" Tsubame used her most coy voice, the one that set Yahiko off every time.   
  
*****  
  
The sound of yelling in the middle of the nigh brought Yahiko running down the hallway to the spare room, Tsubame close on his heels. Flinging the door to the spare room open, Yahiko noted Chisai sleeping peacefully in Sanosuke's bed, then noted Sano plastered against the wall, looking like a man who just found a naked woman in his bed.  
  
Yahiko's left eye twitched...  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Authors Notes  
  
I want to thank Nightman and chendo for their work in helping with this chapter. The comments and help have made this a much easier fiction to write than some of my other writing. I also want to thank everyone in #fanfic on irc.nabiki.com for their help and input. 


	9. Sidestory: Closure

Disclaimer: All characters owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, I'm only borrowing them, and promise to return them in the same shape (generally) that I borrowed them in...  
  
Remember and Renewal Sidestory: Closure.  
  
I am reminded on days like today, of the training with my master. It was always cool in the mountains, with the waterfalls creating a gentle roar and the music of birdsong in my ears. The heat of the summer never quite seemed to reach the small cabin, always sapped away by the rivers constant flow, and the gentle rains from above. The clash of swords was the only reminder of human habitation at times, the melody of the steel ringing out to accompany the birds.  
  
It was nice, when the training was done, to go down by the stream, wash out the dirty cloths, sooth the sore muscles, and clean the blood and scrapes. Some days, Hiko-sensei would join me in my evening ritual as well. We would sit under the waterfall, the world miles away from the drumming of the water and spend hours talking like two people, not master or student, not even adult to child, but simply as people. He would tell me stories of times past, of the history of our school, and of our responsibility. He would drink sake, and teach me the things I wanted to know, and for a time, the weight of the world would be removed from our shoulders...  
  
*****  
  
The day is warm, a hint of storm clouds in the distance making it cool enough to be outside under the sun. Moving towards the shoji leading outside, I am reminded of my days as a hittokiri. The days of blood and pain churn under my eyebrows, muted by time, dulled by memory, but still lingering. They rise now and then, a snippet of conversation, a name, a place. They bring me back to myself. Remind me what I fought for, what I left my quiet training in the mountains for, and ultimately, the price I still must pay for, if not in blood, then in penence for my crimes.  
  
*****  
  
The blade gleamed dull in the moonlight, the blood pooling below the tip like an moving like an obscene red shadow, crawling towards me, it seemed to cry out for my own lifeblood. I have become the manslayer, the one that had been operating for nearly a year in Edo. Delivering Jinchuu.  
  
Three times this week my blade had been brought to call, and six men had fallen, split asunder like so much rice before the scythe. All were high- ranking diplomats. All men with wives, with children, and lives. Now, all of those women, those children, will be grieving, seeking my blood, crying out for an end to the killing, an end to the madness that had consumed all of Japan... If I close my eyes, I can even see their shadows, voices calling from a black void in my soul, getting louder and louder every day...  
  
*****  
  
Snapping back to the present, I notice her out of the corner of my eye. Again, she is looking at me, watching me with the half smile she has worn since we were married six months ago. It is a sign of contentment, and love, one of simple happiness and joy. It is the physical sign that all of my fighting, all of the tears, the pain, were not for naught. Quickly moving toward her, I smile gently, stroking the stomach that is already alive with life, the air made all that much sweeter with their presence...  
  
*****  
  
The woman turns quickly, attempting to flee from the scene of carnage she has just witnessed, attempting, perhaps, to live. Moving with the same grace, the same quick reflexes that have killed so many politicians, military planners, and leaders, the blade flashes, a beam of silver in the torchlight. It stops, and touches her neck, the steel kissing her like an intimate lover. A breath escapes my mouth, then another. What am I becoming? Killing innocents without remorse? Taking lives for the pleasure of it? Choking off an inarticulate cry of rage, I turn to flee. From behind, I hear a gasp, then a wet, fleshy gurgle. Turning, I see Toshi remove the blade from her chest, a red streamer coating his face in a half mask of gore...  
  
*****  
  
Kaoru pants, her breathing labored and rough. The sound emanating from the bedroom sends chills down my spine like no other sound can. Karou, hurt, because of me! Crying in the oldest pain of all, because of me! For a moment, there is silence, then, another cry. One full of life, of hope, of dreams. Megumi slides open the door a few moments later, finally allowing me to see inside. Sitting on the futon, still wet from the birth, Karou holds my child. Falling to the tatami, I can do nothing but smile as my redemption cries into his mothers chest...  
  
*****  
  
I settle down for the night, it's been three weeks since the battle in the Forest of Silence. Three weeks since Tomoe was killed by my own hand. The half healed wound on my face throbs, as if the bond it represents will never fade. I will carry it for all time, it seems. The road looms ahead, lit by nothing more than a sliver of a moon, and the eerie darkness that creeps up to meet the darkness in my heart...  
  
*****  
  
So tired... it's been, what, three days? I don't know any more. My body feels feverish, like lead had been poured in my veins; it burns out all the memories of my past, purging me of anything but the eternal desire to see their faces again. Moving slowly, I see a familiar bridge ahead of me. I hear a voice, crying out to me. Could it be her? It's been so long, but the darkness inside is fading, so it must be. A final memory, of sakura, and lighting bugs, and goodbyes, as I collapse in her arms... Then the darkness consumes all...  
  
*****  
  
Sano received the letter, postmarked several times from places he had recently been from a breathless runner sent by a local police koban. Sitting to read it, his face fell with every paragraph. So, it was true. He'd heard rumors, but nothing solid. Now the proof was in his hand. Carefully putting away the letter, Sano reached down in his pack, pulling out the large bottle of sake, and unsealed the cap...  
  
End Sidestory #1  
  
Authors Notes: I wrote this primarily as a small addendum for those who may not have watched the second set of Kenshin oavs. It contains spoilers, however, they are necessary to move the main storyline forward, and honestly, it's something I've always had floating around at the back of my mind. There will be other side stories as the story progresses, but I want this to be the most... poignant of the sidestories.  
  
I'd like to thank Ragnar from #fanfic for all his comments and help with this small sidestory.  
  
Jeremy Bennett April 20, 2004  
  
Main story archived at 


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